Order in the House: 10 Smart DIY Filing Solutions

Banish the bills and jettison the junk mail with one—or more—of these 10 expertly crafted filing solutions you can make yourself.

Cereal Box Stationery File

1/11

Make a stationery ﬁle with a couple of cereal boxes, scissors, pretty paper, and glue. It’s the ultimate accessible recycling project, easy enough for even the youngest DIYers. Who wouldn’t want to have this to look at on a desk?

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Shower Caddy File and Hanger

3/11

Hang a shower caddy on the wall to organize small notepads, mail, or publications. In the kitchen, use it to hold cooking magazines and hang your apron and pot holders. Mount it next to the door to keep school folders and house keys at the ready. Use it in the craft room for magazines, scissors, and other small items.

BHG

Chest for Files and Supplies

4/11

Reconﬁgure a chest or toy box into storage for your home ofﬁce. Two drawers' worth of hanging ﬁles sit neatly on metal ﬁle frames, and there’s still enough room left to tuck away some ofﬁce supplies. Close the lid, and you’ve got seating for a guest who will never be the wiser.

Martha Stewart

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DVD File in a Box

5/11

Reduce the storage space your DVDs require by removing them from their cases and slipping them into slim paper or plastic covers. Then house them all in a narrow box, using note cards as dividers to keep them in alphabetical order. Now you’ll know exactly where to look come movie night.

Picture Frame Mini File

6/11

Beautify that all-important pile of little notes and receipts with a wall or desktop mini ﬁle made from an old picture frame. Simply wrap some fabric around the inside backing—use several strips of decreasing size to create pockets—then secure with glue. Hang it on the wall by the door for outgoing mail, and you’ll never again forget to bring a bill to the mailbox.

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Basket Full of Files

7/11

If a traditional ﬁle cabinet is not your style, you can create the same type of storage inside a basket. Just put a metal ﬁle frame inside and hang your ﬁles as you would in a cabinet. No one ever has to know that the pretty basket on your shelf houses all your old tax receipts.

Desktop Bracket File

8/11

Mount some shelf brackets onto a board to relieve your desktop of those dreaded piles of ﬁles. Paint it pretty, and it will easily and attractively help you sort and keep neat all those ﬁles that must stay close at hand.

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Business Card File on a Ring

9/11

Using just a book ring and hang tags, create a mini Rolodex for all those business cards you collect. Label a hang tag with each letter of the alphabet, then just punch a hole into each business card and add it to the ring where it belongs. All those cards in one place—easy to access and easy to tuck away.

Dish Rack File

10/11

A dish rack makes the perfect organizer for corralling all those school papers into a home command center right by the door. Create a ﬁle for each kid and perhaps files for ingoing/outgoing bills and mail as well. A notepad and pens in the utensil pockets make it convenient to take phone messages or leave reminders for other family members. Mornings just got a little easier.

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